A 


*V.V.  - 


>.  B.  I^NARD,  D.D., 

Corresponding  Secre-tary. 


^  Printed  by  HUNT  &  EATON,  150  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York.__ 


TO  THE  BOARD  OF  MANAGERS  OF  THE  MIS¬ 
SIONARY  SOCIETY  OF  THE  METHODbST 
EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


In  compliance  witH  your  mstructions,  I  here- 
with  submit  a  brief  Report  upon  our  Missions 
in  JAPAN,  k6rEA,  and  CHINA.  _ 

A.  3.  Le:o?^ake), 

*  '  Corre,S4i3oncliiifi:  Secretary. 


'JVIeTHODI^T  JJpI^COPAL  'jVll^piON^ 


IN 


EASTERN  ASIA. 


Having  been  coininissioned  by  the  Board  of  Managers 
of  the  Missionary  Society  to  accompany  Bisliop  Foster 
upon  his  episcopal  visitation  to  Japan,  Korea,  and  China, 
I  left  Hew  York  on  May  17,  1893,  and  after  a  prosperous 
journey  landed  in  Yokohama,  Japan,  June  9. 

JAPAN. 

The  Japan  of  the  present,  with  the  exception  of  changes 
wrought  mainly  within  a  quarter  of  a  century  by  Chris¬ 
tianity,  is  tlie  product  morally  of  the  joint  influences  of 
Shintoism  and  Buddhism.  These  religions  have  had  full 
sway  for  centuries,  but  long  ago  they  exhausted  all  their  re¬ 
sources  for  the  advancem6nt  of  this  people.  For  many  cent¬ 
uries  they  have  made  practically  no  progress  except  what 
has  occurred  since  the  revolution  of  1868,  that  being  the 
date  that  marks  a  new  era  in  their  history.  Up  to  the 
period  of  the  revolution  the  education  of  the  masses  was 
largely  neglected,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  now  wide¬ 
spread  illiteracy  prevails.  A  system  of  popular  education 
has  been  devised,  but  it  is  quite  imperfect  and  probably 
does  not  reach  at  the  present  time  more  than  one  half  the 
children  and  youth  of  school  age.  There  has  been  im¬ 
provement  in  many  respects,  and  the  stagnant  sea  of  a 
civilization  produced  by  false  religions  is  being  stirred. 


2 


aii'l  tlic  people  are  awaking  from  the  slumber  of  cent¬ 
uries.  In 

Yokohama, 

the  principal  seaport  of  the  empire,  we  have  a  self-support¬ 
ing  church.  Several  years  ago  the  church  edifice  was  de¬ 
stroyed  by  a  typhoon,  since  which  time  our  services  have 
been  held  in  what  is  known  as  the  Gospel  Society  Hall. 
Th  is  hall  was  designed  as  a  jdace  tbr  conducting  a  night 
school,  the  delivery  of  lectures  to  young  men,  and  a  read¬ 
ing  room.  It  but  poorly  provides  fu*  church  services  and 
renders  any  considerable  growth  quite  impracticable. 
Several  missions  of  other  denominations  have  respectable 
church  edifices,  which  renders  our  destitution  only  the 
more  conspicuous.  We  have  a  lot  centrally  located  and 
paid  for,  and  the  native  church  has  accumulated  nearly 
$1,000  (Japanese  currency),  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  a  new  . 
house  of  worship.  It  is  greatly  to  be  l  egretted  that  the 
General  Committee,  at  its  recent  session,  could  not  see  its 
way  clear  to  make  a  direct  appro])riation  for  the  erection 
of  this  much-needed  house  of  worship.  The  conditional 
appropriation  of  $5,000  ought  to  be  j  aised,  and  the  church 
erected  this  year. 

Our  first  Sabbath  in  Japan  was  Children’s  Day.  Learn- 
ino;  that  the  morninoj  hour  was  to  be  devoted  to  the  Chil- 
dren’s  Day  services,  BiJiop  Foster  and  myself  repaired  to 
the  hall  to  be  spectators  of  what  might  transpire.  The 
services  were  conducted  by  the  native  lady  superintend¬ 
ent  of  the  school,  and  in  a  stvle  that  would  have  done 
ciedit  to  a  lady  in  America.  It  was  rather  an  interesting 
incident  that  the  first  addresses  delivered  in  Japan  by  the 
bishop  and  the  writer  should  have  been  to  children  and 
young  people.  On  the  bluff  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Mis¬ 
sionary  Society  has  a  training  school  for  Bible  women. 
These  women  are  instructed  in  Christian  doctrine  and 
drilled  in  methods  of  practical  work  which  fit  them  for 


3 


great  nsefnlness  among  their  sisters  who  are  languishing  in 
the  darkness  of  pagan  night. 

Hakodate 

is  a  city  of  40,000  inliabitants,  and  the  metropolis  of  Hok¬ 
kaido,  an  island  in  the  northern  part  of  the  empire,  con¬ 
stituting  a  presiding  elder’s  district  and  containing  35,000 
square  miles,  with  a  population  of  400,000.  Here  we  have 
two  good  dwellings  and  a  comfortable  frame  church  which 
will  accommodate  250  people,  the  membership  of  which  is 
175.  This  church  has  been  for  several  years  self-supporting. 
Here  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionai\v  Society  has  a  flour¬ 
ishing  school  for  young  ladies,  well  equipped  and  well 
housed.  The  ladies  connected  with  this  school  carry  on 
six  Sunday  schools,  some  of  which  will  doubtless  develop 
into  church  organizations.  Crossing  the  Tsurugu  Straits 
to  Aomori  I  visited 

Hirosaki, 

a  city  in  the  extreme  northern  part  of  the  main  island. 
Ours  is  the  only  Christian  mission  in  the  city,  and  the 
whole  valley  in  which  it  is  located,  thickly  dotted  with 
towns  and  villages,  is  open  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
In  this  city  we  have  a  church  of  seventy  members,  wor¬ 
shiping  in  an  inferior  chapel.  Here  I  spent  the  Sabbath, 
preaching  twice  and  administering  baptism  to  four  adults, 
one  of  whom  was  the  wife  of  a  member  of  the  Imperial 
Diet.  Returning  to  Aomori,  wdiere  we  have  a  comfort¬ 
able  chapel  with  a  church  organization  having  before  it 
good  prospects  of  success,  we  continued  our  journey  south¬ 
ward  to  Morioko,  a  city  of  30,000  inhabitants,  wdiere  we 
have  a  society  worshiping  in  a  house  occupied  by  the  native 
pastor,  and  where  a  church  edifice  is  much  needed.  Here 
a  special  religious  seivice  w’as  held  in  a  theater,  and  ad¬ 
dresses  w^ere  made  by  Bishop  Foster  and  the  writer.  Pro¬ 
ceeding  still  southward,  wm  visited  Sendai,  a  city  of  60,000 


4 


inhabitants,  where  we  have  a  native  se]f-snp])orting  church 
of  300  menibers,  and  wliere  the  evangelistic  work  is  great¬ 
ly  aided  by  Bible  women  under  the  directi4>n  of  the 
Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  Our  church  edi¬ 
fice  is  commodious  and  the  attendance  upon  worship 
excellent.  The 

Japan  Conference 

opened  its  tenth  annual  session,  under  the  presidency  of 
Bishop  Foster,  in  our  school  edifice  at  Aoyama,  Tokyo, 
Thursday  morning,  July  6.  The  Conference  contains 
21  missionaries  and  34  native  ordained  and  21  unordained 
ministers,  and,  including  probationers,  4,034  lay  members. 
Here  are  missionaries  who  may  be  properly  called 
‘•fathers,”  as  they  were  present  twenty  years  ago  when  the 
Mission  was  founded — Soper,  Davison,  and  Correll.  Here 
are  others  who  have  rendered  service  for  a  series  of  years, 
who  may  be  ranked  as  veterans — Bishop,  Yail,  Draper, 
Miss  Yail,  the  two  Spencers,  H.  W.  Swartz,  Worden, 
Fulkerson,  Cleveland,  Johnson,  Wier,  Wadman,  Belknap, 
and  Chappell.  There  is  one  novice — H.  B.  Schwartz — who 
has  just  entered  the  Mission,  but  he  has  in  him  the  right 
material  and  needs  only  time  to  prove  his  excellent  qual¬ 
ities.  Among  the  natives  there  are  men  of  sterling  worth 
and  ability,  two  of  whom  should  receive  special  mention — 
S.  Ogata  and  Y.  Honda.  The  former  was  educated  at  As- 
bury  (now  De  Pauw)  Universit}^  was  sent  out  as  a  mission¬ 
ary  in  the  year  1885,  and  is  an  able  preacher.  The  latter 
spent  some  time  pursuing  a  special  course  at  Drew  Theo¬ 
logical  Seminary,  and  is  a  man  of  marked  executive  abil¬ 
ity.  The  several  departments  of  our  work  were  thoroughly 
investigated  and  found  to  be  in  a  good  degree  prosperous. 
The  importance  of  our 

Publicihing-  Agency 

can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  If  we  are  to  have  in  this 
empire  a  great  Church,  we  must  have,  as  a  means  of  its 


O 


creation  in  part,  tliefree  circulation  of  Christian  li  erature. 
We  now  have  the  germ  of  what  will  grow  into  a  Japanese 
Methodist  Book  Concern  in  due  time,  and  it  should  be 
carefully  nurtured  and  developed  as  I’apidly  as  means  will 
allow.  Missiouaiy  money  is  certainly  well  and  effectively 
used  when  it  is  put  into  the  production  of  religions  tracts, 
periodicals,  and  books.  Our 

Ang-lo- Japanese  College 

is  located  at  Aoyarna,  Tokyo.  In  1883  the  Bev.  J.  F. 
Goncher,  D.D.,  of  Baltimore,  was  impressed  with  the  im- 
])orta?ice  of  having  an  educational  institution  planted  at  the 
capital  of  the  empire.  With  that  foresight,  wisdom,  and 
generosity  which  have  so  often  characterized  his  conduct? 
he  contributed  the  money  for  the  purchase  of  a  plot  of 
ground,  consisting  of  twenty-five  acres,  as  a  college  site,  and 
then  donated  a  handsome  sum  for  the  erection  of  a  building 
that  has  been  appropriately  named  Goucher  Hall.  The 
generous  gift  of  Mrs.  Philander  Smith  and  her  son-in-law? 
Mr.  W.  E.  Blackstone,  added  a  commodious  building  which 
now  houses  the  Philander  Smith  Biblical  Institute.  Upon 
the  same  grounds  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
has  a  school  for  young  ladies  and  has  just  completed  a 
s)»acious  building  for  an  industrial  department.  The 
grounds  are  laid  out  with  artistic  taste  and  skill  and  present 
a  very  attractive  appearance.  After  having  visited  the 
sites  of  schools  of  other  missionary  societies,  I  can  testify 
that  for  spaciousness  and  sightliness  ours  excels  them  all. 
Indeed,  it  is  conceded  that  our  school  property  is  the  most 
desirable  owned  by  any  denomination  carrying  on  mission 
work  at  the  capital.  The  buildings  consist  of  Goucher 
Hall,  a  three-story  brick  edifice;  the  Philander  Smith 
theological  building,  also  three  stories  high  ;  and  dormi¬ 
tory,  of  two  stories,  furnishing  sleeping  apartments  for  one 
hundred  and  twenty  students.  These  buildings  are  all 
substantially  constructed  of  brick,  are  of  symmetrical  pro- 


6 


portions,  and  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which  they 
were  designed.  Four  departments,  the  collegiate,  normal, 
theological,  and  industrial,  are  in  successful  operation. 
Already  a  considerable  number  of  graduates  of  our  theo¬ 
logical  school  have  entered  the  ministry  of  our  Church. 
At  the  Conference  nine  promising  men  were  admitted 
to  the  travelino^  connection,  seven  of  whom  but  a 
few  days  previous  had  received  their  certificates  of  gradu¬ 
ation.  The  great  importance  of  our  schools  here  cannot  be 
overestimated.  This  will  always  be  our  main  educational 
center,  and  should  be  managed  with  that  fact  in  view. 
While  speaking  of  our  educational  work  mention  should 
be  made  of  our  school  (Chinzei  Gakkwan)  at 

Nagasaki, 

which  is  successfully  carrying  forward  literary  and  theo¬ 
logical  instruction.  We  have  all  the  schools  in  Japan  that 
we  can  support  for  the  present.  Those  that  are  above 
mentioned,  and  the  several  schools  under  the  management 
of  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  afford  facilities 
for  all  the  school  work  that  should  be  attempted  at  the 
present  stage  of  our  work.  The  question  of 


Pastoral  Support 


in  Japan  is  of  the  utmost  importance  and  demands  the 
most  careful  consideration.  Methods  that  were  wise  and 
successful  in  the  beginning  have  been  outgrown  and  are 
now  an  obstruction.  The  existing  method  of  making 
appropriations  of  missionary  money  to  the  work  in  Japan 
was  what  was  needed  in  the  earlier  years,  when  native 
agencies  were  few,  but  are  notoriously  defective  at  the 
present  time,  when  nativ^e  agencies  are  in  the  ascendency. 
Careful  investigation  shows  that  while  in  other  lines  of  de- 

ij 


velopment  there  has  been  encouraging  progress,  in  the 
matter  of  pastoral  sup])ort  there  has  been  for  several  years 
constant  relative  falling  off.  Both  missionaries  and  native 


7 


preachers  see  and  deprecate  this  fact  and  are  anxious  ihat 
the  evil  shall  be  leinedied.  The  cure  must  be  found  in  a 
change  of  financial  administration,  and  it  is  believed  that 
the  needed  change  can  be  readily  effected.  The  following- 
plan  for  the  financial  administration  of  the  native  evangel¬ 
istic  work  was  recommended  to  the  General  Committee 
at  its  recent  annual  session  and  was  referred  to  this  Board 
for  special  consideration.  It  is  as  follows  :  * 

1.  That  the  appi'opriations  for  the  support  of  native  pas¬ 
tors  and  evangelists  be  made  for  the  Conference  year  in 
place  of  the  calendar  year,  so  that  the  money  may  be  dis¬ 
tributed  among  the  preachers  and  charges  at  the  session  of 
the  Annual  Conference  with  special  reference  to  the  needs 
of  both. 

2.  The  sum  appropriated  for  a  given  Conference  year 
shall  be  in  some  proportion  to  the  amount  raised  by  the 
churches  for  pastoral  support  (exclusive  of  contributions 
for  other  purposes)  during  the  previous  Conference  year ; 
said  proportion  to  be  determined  by  the  General  Com¬ 
mittee  from  year  to  year.  For  the  Conference  year  begin¬ 
ning  J uly,  1891,  we  estimate  that  the  sum  should  be  $ 

The  sum  required  from  the  churches  shall  be  increased 
from  year  to  year  as  ability  for  self-support  shall  warrant. 

3.  An  additional  sum  shall  be  appropriated  each  year 
for  new  work,  equal  to  three  times  the  amount  contributed 
by  the  churches  in  Japan  to  the  treasury  of  the  Missionary 
Society. 

4.  The  whole  sum  a])propriated  for  the  purposes  above 
specified  shall  be  administered  by  the  Japan  Conference  in 
substantially  the  same  manner  as  missionary  money  is  ad¬ 
ministered  by  the  Annual  Conferences  in  the  United  States, 
namely,  the  presiding  elders  shall  be  a  Committee  on  Mis¬ 
sions,  and  shall  divide  the  whole  sum  a))propriated  for  na¬ 
tive  evangelistic  and  pastoral  su])port  among  the  districts, 

*  The  plan  here  given  is  equally  applicable  and  nect-ssary  in  the  Foochow  and  North 
China  Conferences. 


8 


pastoral  cliargcs,  and  new  points  to  be  opened,  and  report 
the  same  to  the  Annual  Conference,  which  shall  have 
power  to  amend  said  report,  the  final  result  to  be  approved 
hj^  the  ])residing  bishop. 

5.  The  several  sums  appropriated  shall  be  paid  to  the 
preachers  by  the  treasurer  of  the  Mission  in  monthly  in¬ 
stallments.  Should  any  preacher  I’efuse  to  serve  the  charge 
to  which  he  is  appointed,  or  should  he  absent  himself,  to 
the  neglect  of  his  woik,  from  his  charge  without  the  con¬ 
sent  of  his  presiding  elder,  the  treasurer  shall  on  notifica¬ 
tion  of  the  presiding  elder  withhold  the  whole  or  any  part 
of  the  sum  appropriated,  in  proportion  to  the  time  said 
preacher  has  failed  to  render  service. 

It  will  he  observed  that  this  plan  proposes  to  change  the 
financial  administration  of  this  department  of  work  from 
the  calendar  to  the  Conference  year.  This  is  absolutely 
necessarv  to  secure  an  intelligent  and  fair  distribution  of 
missionary  money.  According  to  the  plan  that  is  now 
oj)erated,  the  appropriations  are  made  to  men  according  to 
their  respective  positions  as  supplies,  probationers,  deacons, 
and  elders,  and  with  little,  if  any,  regard  to  the  numher  in 
the  preacher’s  family  or  to  what  the  church  to  which  he  is 
assigned  may  be  able  to  pay.  If  at  the  session  of  the  Con¬ 
ference  the  bishop  finds  it  necessary  to  remove  a  man  from 
one  charge  to  another,  as  is  fi  ccpiently  the  case,  the  salary 
goes  with  the  man,  tliough  the  charge  to  which  he  goes 
may  be  abundantly  able  to  pay  a  ])art  or  even  the  whole 
of  his  salary.  Tlie  natural  and  inevitable  result  of  this  plan 
has  been  to  weaken  and  keep  down  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  church  to  support  their  own  pastors.  It  also  makes 
the  pastors  entirely  independent  of  their  people,  so  far  as 
])ersonal  support  is  concerned,  and  so  eliminates  a  whole¬ 
some  sense  of  dependence  which  with  most  mortals  is  nec¬ 
essary  to  })roduce  sustained  activity.  It  is  not  strange 
that  such  a  system  of  pastoral  support  during  the  year 
which  closed  July,  1898,  should  have  yielded  but  $1  to  $10 


9 


furnished  by  the  Missionary  Society.  An  important  result 
of  the  proposed  method  of  administration  will  be  a  more 
careful  scrutiny  of  the  men  who  are  admitted  to  member¬ 
ship  in  the  Conference.  Under  the  plan  now  in  operation 
when  a  man  is  admitted  he  goes  upon  the  list  to  be  sup¬ 
ported  by  missionary  money,  and  the  number  admitted  in 
no  way  affects  the  salaries  of  those  who  vote  for  admission. 
Wlien  it  is  knovvn  that  each  new  man  admitted  will  share 
in  the  lump  sum  at  the  disposal  of  the  Conference,  the 
door  of  admission  will  be  more  carefully  guarded — a  thing 
that  is  greatly  needed. 

Enlargement  of  the  work  and  loyalty  to  the  Missionary 
Society  are  provided  for  in  the  proposed  plan  by  the  an¬ 
nual  appropriation  of  a  certain  sum  bearing  a  given  ]iro- 
portion  to  the  amount  contributed  the  previous  year  by  the 
charges  to  the  missionary  treasury,  said  sum  to  be  used 
only  for  opening  new  points.  This  new  plan  places  a 
proper  responsibility  upon,  and  gives  a  needed  dignity  to, 
the  native  ministers.  They  now  largely  outnumber  the 
foreigners,  and  yet  they  have  no  voice  in  the  financial  ad¬ 
ministration  of  the  Church.  They  are  simply  on  the  pay¬ 
roll,  and  the  presiding  elders  are  frequently  spoken  of  as 
paymasters.  These  native  brethren  are  sometimes  twitted 
by  their  heathen  neighbors  as  being  only  employees  of 
presiding  elders,  of  whom  they  receive  their  pay,  and  they 
feel  such  taunts  keenly.  They  ask  to  share  the  respon¬ 
sibility  of  administering  the  funds  appropriated  for  their 
own  support,  and  the  request  is  reasonable.  The  ability 
and  tact  for  self-government  can  be  developed  only  by 
sharing  responsibility.  These  preachers,  some  of  whom  are 
now  past  middle  age,  and  who  have  spent  a  goodly  num¬ 
ber  of  years  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  can  be  trusted  to 
share  in  the  financial  administration  of  the  work  in  which 
they  are  engaged,  and  their  influence  will  tend  to  promote 
effectiveness  and  economy. 

It  should  be  added  that  this  plan  has  been  unanimombj 


10 


approved  by  both  the  missionaries  and  the  native  bretliren 
by  separate  votes,  after  the  most  thorough  discussion,  and 
it  is  the  earnest  desire  of  all  that  it  may  meet  with  favor 
at  the  hands  of  the  managers  of  the  Missionary  Society 
and  the  General  Committee. 

Nag-oya 

is  a  city  of  great  importance  located  in  the  central-south¬ 
ern  part  of  the  main  island,  and  one  of  the  great  Bud¬ 
dhistic  centers  of  the  empire.  Here  we  have  the  largest 
Christian  church  edifice  in  the  city,  and  the  largest  and 
best  of  our  denomination  in  the  country.  It  is  a  substan¬ 
tial  wooden  structure  with  a  well-proportioned  steeple,  and 
will  accommodate  about  six  hundred  people.  Adjoining 
the  church  we  have  a  comfortable  house  for  a  foreign  mis¬ 
sionary  and  a  parsonage  for  a  native  pastor.  The  Woman’s 
Foreign  Missionary  Society  has  a  prosperous  girls’  school 
held  in  rented  quarters.  They  need,  and  probably  will 
have  in  the  not  distant  future,  a  building  of  their  own. 

Kiu-Siu 

is  the  southernmost  of  the  three  principal  islands  of  the  em¬ 
pire,  of  which  Nagasaki  is  the  principal  seaport  of  south¬ 
ern  Japan.  Here  our  Chinzei  Gakkwan  Seminary,  already 
mentioned,  is  located,  and  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Mission¬ 
ary  Society  has  an  excellent  girls’  boarding  school.  Our 
mission  property  as  a  whole  is  splendidly  situated  on  a  hill¬ 
side  overlooking  the  harbor,  and  consists  of  four  good  resi¬ 
dences  and  the  school  buildings  already  mentioned.  At 
Fukuoka  and  Kumamoto,  important  cities,  we  have  work 
established.  At  the  former  there  is  a  membership  of  one 
hundred,  with  a  rather  inferior  chapel  as  a  place  of  wor¬ 
ship,  while  the  Woman’s  Society  has  a  flourishing  girls’ 
school  well  housed.  At  the  latter  place,  where  there  is  a 
membership  of  one  hundred,  a  new  church  and  parsonage 
have  just  been  completed.  All  through  this  island  the 


I 


11 


])eople  arenas  a  rule,  tavorabl}'  disposed  toward  Christianity, 
and  oiir  prospects  for  success  are  very  encouraging. 

Property  Titles. 

All  our  church  property  in  Japan  is  held  by  a  very 
uncertain  and  precarious  title.  The  laws  of  the  empire 
prevent  any  foreigner  or  foreign  corporation  from  ob¬ 
taining  a  title  for  real  estate  that  will  stand  a  legal  test. 
Recently  there  has  been  before  the  ^N^ational  Diet  a  very 
drastic  hill  providing  severe  penalties  for  any  native  who 
would  in  any  way  abet  the  securing  of  real  estate  by 
foreigners. 

The  bill  did  not  pass,  as  the  Diet  was  dissolved  by  the  em¬ 
peror  while  the  bill  was  under  consideration.  It  is 
believed  that  the  intense  antiforeign  spirit  that  has  pre¬ 
vailed  for  several  years  is  becoming  somewhat  modified, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  the  bill  proposed  will  not  be  enacted 
into  a  law.  As  it  now  is,  foreigners  and  foreign  corpora¬ 
tions  are  prevented  from  holding  property,  so  that  there 
seems  to  be  no  way  but  to  deed  our  property  formally  to 
native  boards  of  trustees.  This  seems  to  be  necessary  in 
order  to  save  missionary  property  from  the  possibility  of 
confiscation. 

KOREA. 

Our  mission  in  Korea  was  opened  in  1885.  In  complet¬ 
ing  our  treaty  relations  with  the  hing,  our  minister,  Gen. 
Lucius  H.  Foote,  secured  a  promise  that  religious  tolera¬ 
tion  should  be  proclaimed,  and  though  such  proclamation 
has  not  been  publicly  made,  the  policy  pursued  has  been 
of  a  tolerant  character.  The  king  is  understood  to  look 
with  favor  upon  the  presence  of  our  missionaries,  and  has 
given  countenance  to  their  work  by  giving  names  to  our 
schools  and  hospitals. 

Our  compound,  including  the  property  of  the  Missionary 
Society  and  of  the  Woman’s  Society,  contains  about  four 
acres  and  is  splendidly  located  near  the  west  gate  of  the 


12 


city.  The  site  is  composed  of  two  knolls  divided  by  a 
narrow  vale  with  graceful  slopes.  Upon  one  of  these 
knolls  stands  the  school  building,  printing  house,  and  one 
residence  belonging  to  the  Missionary  Society,  and  on  the 
other  the  school  building  and  home  of  the  Woman’s  So¬ 
ciety.  In  the  vale  between  are  three  missionary  residences 
and  two  hospitals,  one  for  men  and  the  other  for  women. 
Besides  the  buildings  already  indicated,  there  are  on  the 
compound  one  missionary  residence  and  two  small  chapels. 
At  the  south  gate  of  the  city,  where  the  hospital  is  to  be 
erected,  one  wing  of  which  is  finished,  we  have  a  site  in 
every  way  as  commanding  as  the  one  already  described, 
containino^  about  one  half  acre.  Our  missionaries  have 
certainly  exercised  excellent  judgment  in  selecting  loca¬ 
tions  for  church  institutions  in  the  city  of  Seoul.  It  is 
proposed  at  as  early  a  day  as  possible  to  erect  a  new  hos¬ 
pital  building  and  concentrate  our  medical  work  at  the 
south  gate  of  the  city.  This  is  the  next  important  work  to 
be  accomplished.  Our  present  hospital  is  too  small  by 
more  than  one  half  and  is  dangerously  near  our  mission¬ 
ary  residences,  particularly  in  view  of  the  numerous  con¬ 
tagious  diseases  that  must  be  treated.  In  the  heart  of 
this  heathen  city  of  250,000  inhabitants,  on  the  widest  and 
best  street,  we  own  a  lot  fifty  feet  square,  upon  which  a 
chapel  with  a  seating  capacity  of  five  hundred  at  least 
should  be  erected.  Up  to  this  time  our  work  has  been  on 
the  rim  of  the  city,  but  the  time  has  come  to  plant  our 
banner  at  its  center.  Less  than  a  square  away  we  own  a 
lot,  which  with  the  addition  of  another  which  can  be  read¬ 
ily  secured,  will  make  a  site  for  a  bookstore  and  printing 
press.  We  also  own  jointly  with  the  Woman’s  Society  a 
plot  of  ground  at  the  east  gate  of  the  city,  where  a  medical 
dispensary  has  been  established  and  a  cliapel  erected.  The 
property  now  owned  by  the  two  societies  in  this  city  is  es¬ 
timated  to  be  worth  at  least  $50,000,  and  could  not  be  re¬ 
placed  for  that  sum.  We  also  own  property  at  Chemulpo, 


13 


Wonsan,  Yang,  and  Eiii-jn,  wliere  we  liave  opened 

work  on  a  small  scale.  The  membership  of  the  church, 
including  probationers,  is  about  two  hundred  and  fift3\  In 
no  Asiatic  mission  have  we  achieved  as  great  results  in  the 
same  length  of  time. 


CHINA. 

The  territory  of  our  North  China  Mission  lies  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  China  proper,  extending  a  little  be¬ 
yond  the  great  wall,  and  contains  more  than  twelve  thou¬ 
sand  square  miles.  In  the  greater  ])art  of  this  territory  the 
])opulation  is  very  dense,  and  as  a  rule  kindly  disposed 
toward  foreigners  and  the  Christian  I’eligion.  Our  growth 
in  this  field  has  been  steady  fi'om  the  beginning,  and  we 
now  have  a  membership,  including  probationers,  of  2,856. 
At  the  annual  session  of  the  Mission,  held  last  September, 
the  work  was  organized  into  an  Annual  Conference. 

The  principal  centers  of  operation  are  Peking,  Tientsin, 
and  Tsunhua.  In  these  cities  we  have  property  aggregat¬ 
ing  in  value  $136,970.  In  Peking  our  compound  consists 
of  five  dwellings,  the  university  building,  intermediate  and 
primary  schoolliouse,  hospital,  and  one  chapel.  The  uni¬ 
versity  edifice  is  two  stories  high  and  sufficiently  spacious 
f»r  present  needs.  The  dwellings  are  modest,  comfortable? 
and  plainly  furnished,  but  the  hospital  is  altogether  inad¬ 
equate  to  the  needs  of  the  work,  and  its  accommodation 
should  be  enlarged.  Excellent  judgment  has  been  exer¬ 
cised  in  the  purchase  of  real  estate.  In  other  parts  of  the 
city  there  are  two  chapels  well  located,  one  of  which  is 
old  and  dilapidated  and  should  be  replaced  and  its  grounds 
enlarged.  Here  also  the  Woman’s  Society  has  a  woman’s 
training  school,  girls’  boarding  school,  and  ladies’  home. 
At  Tientsin  we  have  two  comfortable  dwell ino^s  and  two 
good  chapels,  one  of  which  has  but  recently  been  dedicated. 
Here  the  Woman’s  Society  has  a  missionary  home,  girls’ 
school,  and  a  first-class  \Voman’s  hospital.  At  Tsunhua, 


11 


near  the  gieat  wall,  there  are  three  residences,  all  in  good 
condition  ;  two  good  chapels,  one  ol  which  has  just  been 
completed;  and  a  first-class  hospital.  The  Woman’s  So¬ 
ciety  also  has  a  home  and  girls’  boarding  school  and 
woman’s  hospital.  In  seventeen  other  towns  in  the  bounds 
of  the  Missioti  we  own  chapels,  and  in  many  more  chapels 
are  rented.  The  work  in  North  China  is  in  excellent  con¬ 
dition  and  is  steadily  moving  forward. 

Central  China. 

In  Central  China  we  have  four  jnincipal  points.  Four 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  up  the  Yangtse  is 


Kiukiang-, 

with  200,000  inhabitants.  In  this  city  we  have  lour 
excellent  residences,  plainly  and  substantially  furnished. 
Here  the  Kiukiang  Institute  and  school  for  boys  is 
located.  It  is  supplied  with  good  substantial  buildings, 
appropriately  furnished,  and  contains  a  commodious  chapel, 
which  affords  excellent  accommodations  for  church  services. 
A  dormitory  provides  for  about  eighty  students,  all  of 
which  were  occupied.  In  connection  with  the  school  there 
is  the  be^dnning  of  an  industrial  department,  consisting  of 
furniture  and  carpenter  shops,  and  a  printing  press,  all  ot 
which  were  doing  creditable  work.  On  what  is  known  as 
the  Foreign  Concession,  which  occupies  a  considerable  space 
outside  the  city  walls  and  along  the  river  ti'ont,  stands  St. 
Paul  Chapel,  in  which  an  English  service  is  held  every 
Sabbath  morning  for  the  accommodation  ot  the  families  of 
the  consular  and  customs  officers  and  such  other  English- 
speaking  people  as  may  be  in  the  city.  On  Sabbath  even¬ 
ings  a  native  service  is  held,  upon  which  there  is  always  a 
large  attendance.  There  are  two  street  chapels  located  in 
different  parts  of  the  cify,  in  wliicli  daily  preaching  serv¬ 
ices  are  held  and  in  connection  with  one  of  which  there  is 
a  day  school  for  boys.  In  this  city  the  Woman’s  Society 


4 


15 


has  an  excellent  ladies’  home  and  flonrishin«:  iiirls’  board- 
in^  school.  From  this  center  two  laro-e  circuits  extendincr 
into  the  country  are  worked  by  the  missionaries  and  native 
preachers.  Descending:  the  river  two  hundred  miles  we 
come  to 

Wuhu, 

a  city  of  200,000  inhabitants.  Our  compound  is  locate'd 
on  a  bluff  overlooking!:  the  river,  and  can  be  seen  from  the 
deck  of  a  steamer  from  a  distance  of  about  eij^ht  miles. 
The  property  consists  of  two  residences,  a  well-appointed 
hospital,  a  school  building,  and  a  chapel,  erected  by  the 
Woman’s  Society,  but  now  opened  by  the  Missionary  So¬ 
ciety.  This  school  building  is  unoccupied,  except  during 
a  few  weeks  in  the  winter,  when  a  training  school  for  na¬ 
tive  helpers  is  carried  forward.  It  was  thought  at  one 
time  that  this  building  might  be  converted  into  a  deacon¬ 
ess  home,  but  that  idea  has  been  abandoned.  It  would 
afford  excellent  accommodations  for  a  school  for  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  missionaries  and  other  foreigners,  and  it  is  believed 
such  a  school  wt)uld  be  self-supporiing  from  the  beginning. 
Besides,  it  would  save  much  expense  by  rendering  it 
unnecessary  to  bring  missionary  families  to  the  United 
States  for  educational  advantages.  These  buildings  are 
all  well  located  so  far  as  healthfulness  is  concerned,  but, 
being  two  miles  from  the  city,  the  site  is  rather  inconven¬ 
ient  for  missionary  operations.  There  is  in  the  city  a 
chapel  in  which  daily  preaching  services  are  held,  and  in 
connection  with  which  there  is  a  boys’  school.  Sixty  miles 
farther  down  the  Tangtse  we  come  to 

Nanking, 

once  the  capital  of  the  empire,  containing  a  population  of 
500,000.  It  is  now  the  most  important  city  in  Central 
China  Mission.  Onr  property  consists  of  six  excellent 
residences,  a  first-class  hospital,  and  the  Nanking  Univer¬ 
sity  buildings,  consistini*;  of  Fowler  theological  edilic(‘, 


16 


Sleeper  Memorial  Chapel,  Collins  Doniiitorj,  and  a  pre¬ 
paratory  building.  The  first  was  erected  and  named  by 
Mrs.  Philander  Smith  ;  the  second  by  the  heirs  of  the  dis¬ 
tinguished  layman  whose  name  it  bears;  the  third  by  Mr. 
Collins,  of  Pennsylvania;  and  the  last  by  the  Missionary 
Society.  These  buildings  are  all  of  excellent  architectural 
design,  splendidly  located,  and  well  adapted  to  the  pur¬ 
poses  for  which  they  were  erected.  Within  less  than  five 
minutes’  walk  is  the  compound  of  the  Woman’s  Society, 
upon  which  are  a  ladies’  home  and  a  girls’  boarding  school 
building  of  beautiful  design  and  excellent  furnishing.  In 
the  southern  part  of  the  city,  in  a  rented  building,  a  most 
hopeful  evangelistic  movement  has  been  inaugurated,  in 
connection  with  which  there  is  a  boys’  school.  Medical 
dispensaries  have  been  established  in  several  neighboring 
towns,  in  connection  with  which  regular  evangelistic  work 
is  carried  forward.  Fifty  miles  fai  ther  and  we  reach 

Chinkiang', 

with  200,000  inhabitants.  Here  there  are  two  good  resi¬ 
dences,  a  school  building  of  beautiful  design  erected  by 
special  gifts  made  by  German  Methodists  in  America,  and 
a  commodious  native  chapel.  The  Woman’s  Society  have 
a  ladies’  home,  girls’  boarding  school,  hospital,  and  an  or¬ 
phanage.  Within  the  past  year  a  residence  has  been 
erected  and  work  opened  at  Yangchow,  a  large  city  fifteen 
miles  north  of  Ohinkiang,  and  one  of  the  best  built  and 
cleanliest  cities  to  be  found  in  China.  The  membership 
of  the  Central  China  Mission,  including  probationers,  is 
586.  Passing  on  down  the  river  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  we  come  to 

Shanghai, 

the  great  commercial  emporium  of  China.  It  seems 
strange,  in  view  of  the  relation  of  Shanghai  to  the  whole 
of  the  Yangtse  valley,  that  our  Society  has  not  planted  a 
mission  in  that  city.  All  missionaries  and  missionary  sup- 


17 


plies  destined  for  onr  work  in  the  Yangtse  valley,  extend¬ 
ing  to  Chungking  'in  West  China,  must  not  only  pass 
through  Slunighai,  but  be  reshipped  at  that  point.  It  is 
true  that  the  Methodist  Episcoj)al  Church,  South,  has  made 
that  city  their  headquarters, -but  it  is  also  true  that  they  do 
not  and  cannot  fully  occupy  the  held.  There  is  an  im¬ 
mense  population  that  is  not  reached  by  any  missionary 
agency  and  that  needs  the  Gospel  as  badly  as  any  people 
in  China.  What  is  most  needed  is  a  })rinting  house  at 
that  halfway  point  between  North  China  and  the  Foochow 
Conference.  Such  an  institution  would  be  from  the  outset 
self-supporting,  and  would  constitute  a  much-needed  bond 
of  union  between  our  four  missions  and  furnish  a  Christian 
literature  for  all  the  Methodisms  of  the  empire. 

Foochow  Conference. 

Foochow  is  the  headquarters  of  our  oldest  mission  in 
China,  the  work  having  been  opened  in  1847.  Our  mis¬ 
sion  premises  are  finely  located  upon  a  large  island  in  the 
Minn  River,  at  an  elevation  of  about  three  hundred  feet, 
the  whole  city  being  plainly  in  view.  Our  property  con¬ 
sists  of  six  excellent  dwellings,  plainly  but  comfortably 
furnished;  the  Anglo-Chinese  College  edifice,  a  substantial 
building  well  constructed  and  ample  for  present  necessities ; 
the  press  building,  which  also  provides,  though  inade¬ 
quately,  for  our  theological  school ;  and  a  chapel  which, 
though  it  accommodates  400  people,  is  too  small  often  for 
the  congregation  worshiping  in  it.  The  schools  are  pros¬ 
perous,  the  college  having  an  attendance  of  about  120,  and 
the  theological  school  of  about  30.  The  latter  school 
greatly  needs  a  building  of  its  own  adapted  to  the  work  it 
is  doing.  The  press  has  been  from  the  beginning  self-sup¬ 
porting,  and  is  steadily  growing.  In  this  city  the  Woman’s 
Society  has  three  good  residences  well  furnished,  a  girls’ 
boarding  school,  woman’s  training  school,  two  hospitals, 
and  an  orphanage. 


18 


Hinghua 

is  tlie  center  ot*  a  large  and  growing  evangelistic  inoveinent. 
For  three  years  a  revival  has  prevailed  which  constantly 
widens  in  scope  and  increases  in  power.  The  Hinghna 
dialect  being  very  different  from  that  spoken  in  Foochow 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  open  a  theological  training 
school  for  the  education  of  preachers  to  preach  the  Gospel 
to  the  sixty  millions  of  people  in  that  region  of  country. 
There  is  here  also  a  boys’  school,  and  the  Woman’s  Society 
has  a  ffirls’  boarding  school  and  woman’s  training 
school.  At 

Kucheng 


we  have  a  boys’  boarding  scdiool,  a  well-appointed  hospital, 
also  a  woman’s  training  school,  under  the  management  of 
the  Woman’s  Society.  A  growing  evangelistic  work  is 
moving  forward  with  promise  of  large  results. 


Hokchiang 

is  another  center  of  growing  importance.  For  many  years 
great  difficulties  have  beset  our  work  in  that  city  and  sur¬ 
rounding  country,  and  there  have  been  times  when  the 
most  hopeful  desj)aired  of  success.  Eecently  eight  fam¬ 
ilies  of  the  literati  have  been  reached,  and  the  work  among 
that  class  promises  to  be  of  great  importance.  There  is 
here  an  excellent  chapel  with  residence  for  native  pastor, 
and  an  excellent  boys’  school,  also  a  woman  s  training 
school.  Still  another  center  is  at 


Ingchung, 

but  having  had  little  supervision  by  missionaries  the  suc¬ 
cess  heretofore  has  not  been  encouraging.  Eecently  there 
has  been  encouraging  success,  and  it  is  regarded  now  as  a 
hopeful  field.  The  boys’  boarding  school  and  woman’s 
training  school  are  doing  a  good  work.  In  many  places  in 
the  Conference  there  are  day  schools  for  boys  and  girls^ 
always  separately  conducted  (the  latter  under  the  manage- 


11) 


inent  of  ilio  Woman’s  Society),  in  wliicli  lai’ge  numbers  are 
being  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  Our 
success  in  tliis  Conference  during  tlie  past  year  has  been 
unusual,  there  having  been  an  increase  in  the  membership 
of  tlie  Churcli  of  1,175,  tlie  entire  membership,  including 
probationers,  being  7,134. 


Property  Interests. 

At  all  the  points  visited  I  investigated  carefully  the  con¬ 
dition  of  our  property,  and  found  it,  as  a  rule,  in  good 
condition.  I  am  prepared  at  any  time  to  give  to  the  Board 
information  in  detail  concernino:  the  residences  of  mission- 
aries,  school  jiroperty,  chapels,  etc. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

A.  B.  LEONARD. 


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